If Auburn’s offense is going to be as explosive as Alex Golesh’s offense was at USF last season, the Tigers took a big step in their scrimmage on Tuesday in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
It started with quarterback Byrum Brown, who came with Golesh from Tampa to be the leader of Auburn’s offensive attack after throwing for 3,158 yards and 28 touchdowns while rushing for 1,008 yards and 14 scores. And, as the first-year head coach put it, the rest of Brown’s teammates caught up.
Alex Golesh happy with offense after Tuesday's scrimmage
“This is my fourth time doing this in this system,” Golesh said. “And there’s always this a-ha moment of like, man, when you consistently move the chains, the tempo catches up to the defense.
“There’s this moment of, ‘Alright, this guy’s tired and I am going to go physically either road grate him or run by him or whatever the play call is.’ I thought there were times today where the offensive line, the skill guys, felt that.”
A major reason Golesh was hired to replace Hugh Freeze following last season was his offensive mind, which helped lead the Bulls to 488.7 yards per game in 2025, good for 3rd in total offense. USF also finished fifth in scoring offense, putting up 40.5 points per game, while Auburn’s offense massively struggled in Freeze’s third season, averaging 26.8 points per game (74th) while putting up a measly 373.9 yards per game (79th).
Still, the defense had its time to shine, finally having its moments in the latter part of the scrimmage.
“We were efficient on early downs and were able to go move it,” Golesh said. “You stay out of 3rd and long, you have a chance. Early on in the scrimmage we did. And then I thought the defense bounced right back. We went into a 2nd and long situation and the defense, four in a row, got stops.”
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